So have you heard the news? Microsoft has completely taken their offer off the table with Yahoo and now Yahoo and Google are going to team up—eventually.

No need to go crazy now with trying to figure out what you are going to do if/when Google and Yahoo combine their paid search ads, personally I don’t see the government allowing it (but that’s just my opinion)…monopoly anyone??
Anyways, from the reports yesterday, nothing is supposed to go into effect until September so we all have time to figure things out.
If you’d like to read more on it, Yahoo news has given some insight into it, as well as Search Engine Land.

Posted by Brittany Heidtke at 09:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Does that mean you CAN bid on trademark terms?
Ethics are icky and sticky when it comes to online marketing and advertising. We still haven’t reached the true outline of what that means, or when there is a serious violation of privacy whether it be personal or business information and names. Seriously, folks, here we are in another long drawn out election year, where we, as our American duty, have to pick out who the truth teller is. I can hear some politicians state the following quote from Darby Conley:
“Ethics are so annoying. I avoid them on principle.”

Where do we, as internet marketers stand with the so called “ethics”? Sometimes, because we stand on the cutting edge of marketing and advertising, some ideas that seem good could turn out to be “unethical”. There are loose definitions, such as Google’s take on trademark terms.

And if you want to read s’more stuff about trademark bidding, here are Yahoo’s stipulations.
The AMA has a code of their own set ethics.

And I’ll bet the candidates running for president are bidding on eachother’s names. When I looked up Obama on Google, I saw at the bottom, on searches related to Obama, Hillary shows up there as well as John Edwards.
Seems like money and ethics are always tied together, so shouldn’t MONEY be ETHICS spelled backwards? Would it be a violation of the trademarked term “ethics” if “money” bid on it?

You are so MONEY, you don't even know it.

Posted by April Hartmeister at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Most affiliates don't have a lot of cash to spare when they're just starting out. (After all, that's why they become affiliates, right?) Whether paid search is their game of choice or they prefer experimenting with SEO, tips that help them enter the arena without spending an arm and a leg are always welcome.

Well, if you're a new affiliate--or even a seasoned pro looking to cut costs--here's a suggestion you might not have thought of: try using colloquialisms. That's right, if you can find and use more informal terms (or those same terms in another language) and substitute them for terms more difficult to rank on or more expensive to bid on, you might just find yourself a profitable niche!

If you're wondering what I'm talking about, or you think I'm speaking another language, check out this recent post over at the SEOmoz blog on the subject. It'll explain things in more detail--and put a new twist on the long tail!

Posted by Penny Hagerman at 02:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)